Walmart’s first store opened in 1962, now the largest grocery chain in the US. Amelia Earhart went missing in 1937, and Steve Fossett flew around the world in a hot air balloon in 2002. The US declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, and Ernest Hemingway shot himself in 1961. A stampede in Mecca killed 1,400 people in 1990. The Susan B. Anthony coin, the first to honor a woman, was not popular and ceased production in 1999.
The world’s first Walmart store opens. (1962) Store, called Wal-Mart Discount City, opens in Rogers, Arkansas. Walmart is now the largest grocery chain and private employer in the United States and has stores in Mexico, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Canada. It has total revenues of over $400 billion US dollars annually. The building that housed the first store is now a pawn shop and hardware store.
The millionth Corvette rolled off the assembly line. (1992) Chevrolet’s millionth sports car imitated the first model produced in 1953: a white roadster with a black roof and red interior. The first car sold for US$3,760; the base price in 1992 was $33,635 US dollars. In 2003, the Corvette became the first sports car in America to celebrate a 50th anniversary.
The world’s first autonomous artificial heart has been implanted. (2001) Robert Tools of Louisville, Kentucky received the heart and lived for another 151 days. The “AbioCor” was the first artificial heart that could be surgically implanted completely inside a patient. It is approved for patients with a life expectancy of 30 days.
Famed pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan went missing while attempting the first round-the-world flight. (1937) The couple disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean; no trace of them was ever found.
Steve Fossett was the first to fly around the world in a hot air balloon. (2002) Fossett flew a solo, nonstop flight in the Spirit of Freedom balloon. The 20,626-mile (33,195-kilometer) journey took 14 days, 19 hours and 50 minutes. Upon landing, he was dragged on the ground for 20 minutes waiting for the balloon to stop. Fossett disappeared on September 3, 2007, flying a plane over Nevada. Months later the plane crash site was discovered and Fossett was identified through DNA tests on two bones found at the scene.
The United States declared independence from Great Britain. (1776) United States Continental Congress passed resolution on this day; the formal declaration of independence was approved two days later on 4 July.
US President James A. Garfield was assassinated. (1881) Charles J. Guiteau, a lawyer, shot President Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac railroad station, claiming God commanded him to do so. His trial was the first major case in the United States in which an insanity defense was considered. He was found guilty and hanged on June 30, 1882.
American writer Ernest Hemingway shot himself in the head. (1961) Hemingway’s mental state was deteriorating and he received more than 15 shock treatments from the Mayo Clinic which left him in much worse shape. He was released from his second Mayo Clinic stay in late June. On this day in 1961, he selected his favorite shotgun from the basement, walked into the foyer of his house, put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. His wife Mary found him.
Witnesses saw an alien spacecraft crash near Roswell, New Mexico. (1947) US Air Force claimed the craft was a weather balloon used in a classified project called the “Mogul.” Conspiracy theorists claim the alien bodies were recovered from a spaceship.
A stampede of religious pilgrims in a tunnel in Mecca has killed 1,400 people. (1990) The stampede was attributed to failures in law enforcement procedures and the high numbers of pilgrims attending. Each year, more than 2 million people make the pilgrimage.
The Susan B. Anthony coin, the first coin in the United States to honor a woman, went into circulation. (1979) Unfortunately, the coin was not popular and did not circulate well. Nearly 758 million were produced in 1979, but fewer than 90 million were produced in 1980 and 9.5 million in 1981. The coin was last minted in 1999, with 47.5 million coins produced. When production ceased, the US Treasury had hundreds of millions of unwanted coins.
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